Love this Snickers ad both for its really fun, environmental visual and because (YAY!) this campaign is the first in a long time by Snickers that hasn't targeted me (!): toiling office worker likely to be run-down by mid-day and easily romanced into an ill-advised purchase at the vending machine...

Home Depot's rolled out a bland round of Santa and Mrs. Claus spots. Wal-Mart managed to find trouble even with something as simple as a Christmas promotion. I don't even want to talk about Best Buy's latest gift-giving pitch...

So, I guess it's up to the gifts to sell themselves this year.

Enter Garmin, manufacturer of various GPS and navigation toys. And, these two really entertaining and still-entirely-in-the-holiday-spirit spots ...

November 17, 2006

For the budding rainmakers among us: Don't miss this Influx interview with Jon Steel:

Exerpt: The client team arrived at the agency at the appointed time, to be
greeted by a disinterested receptionist in a rather dirty lobby area.
The receptionist broke off from filing her nails for just long enough
to direct them towards a small sitting area where the seats were
stained, ashtrays were overflowing, and the stains of numerous coffee
cups remained on the table. She didn't offer them any drinks. The
clients waited, and waited, and waited. As the scheduled time for the
agency's presentation disappeared into the past, they asked what was
going on, and the receptionist replied tersely that someone would "be
along in a minute." Their frustration grew, until at the moment they
were about to pick up their bags and leave, Peter Marsh, the agency
head, appeared before them. "Gentlemen," he said. "You have just
experienced what hundreds of thousands of people experience every day
on British Rail. And we'd like to talk to you about how to put that
right.? Read the interview

November 16, 2006

Ok, I'm not saying it's laugh-out-loud funny and, sure, it incorporates lots of well-trod stereotypes, but, you know, I think it probably hits its audience ... it's got that hokey kind of feel (think My Name is Earl) that really powers the masses of viral email that marketers can't touch: the rhymey Christmas stories, the impossible rescue tales, the hundreds of pictures of pets in precarious situations. I guess what I'm saying - and, this really is a compliment - is that Shout probably found a winner by not trying so hard to be really cool or really funny.

(So what if you don't laugh. Your mom will forward it to her sister and three friends from church and that woman in the office next to hers and these two women from the PTA and...)

Hot off presses from the 21st Anniversary Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends, commissioned by Deloitte & Touche: Gift cards are expected to continue to be the top gift purchase in 2006.

66% of consumers planning to buy them - roughly the same as in 2006.

But, this year holiday shoppers are planning on buying more of them: an average of 4.6 gift cards (up from 3.9 in 2005).

Synching up with the general feeling of denial and isolation popular with family holidays, the increased giving does not meet increased wishing:

Only 35% of giftees would rather get a gift card than, well, a gift.

Still, some making their lists and checking them twice are bucking the "happy holidays, do your own shopping" trend.

22% say they don't like to give gift cards because they're too impersonal.

And, while some might consider that a nice dose of good-old-fashioned thoughtfulness, D&T flags it as a potential opportunity for retailers to market and sell gift cards to those who remain reluctant to buy them. So, get to it, advertisers - let's get the gifts out of gift giving this year!

November 12, 2006

The last word in negative spin on the election this year comes from voice-over artists Dennis Steele and Scott Sanders who specialize in creating threatening voices for political ads. In a recent NPR interview with Melissa Block, they show off by adding their special menace to every day nursery rhymes.